hobbs



(No Model?) J. D. HOBBS.

" TELBPHONIG MESSENGER SERVICE.

No. 579,482. Patented Mar. 23, 1897.:

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY Nrrn TELEPHONIC MESSENGER SERVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,482, dated March23, 1897. Application filed February 18, 1896. serial No. 579,731. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON D. HoBBs, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a newand useful Telephonic Messenger Service, of which the followingdescription, taken in connection with the drawing herewith accompanying,is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to an improved telephonic messengerservice,in which a telephone and messenger-call box may be employed incombination or independently of each other and working on the samecircuit, the object of the invention being to provide a cheap, simple,and effective service of such character in which the messenger-call boxand telephone will work in the same circuit and the instruments of eachof the several subscribers and the central office all be supplied fromone battery, whereby the necessity for the use of the usual coils andbatteries for each instrument will be avoided and the cost of placingand keepingin order of such service be correspondingly cheapened. Thisobject I secure by the peculiar combination and arrangement of the partsforming my invention, as will hereinafter be set forth in detail, andpointed out in the claim.

The drawing is a diagrammatic view of my invention, illustrating theservice as arranged or placed for two subscribers and a central officeand showing the wire connections of the same.

To explain in detail, a a represent suitable frames or boards upon eachof which the sev-' eral parts embodied in my invention to be located ina subscribers home or other place may be suitably secured, and each ofthese frames, in the present instance and for the purpose ofillustrating my invention, may be considered as being in differentsubscribers homes or offices. The several parts at the right of the saidframes, and to be hereinafter referred to, are supposed to be located ina central station or office. Upon each of these frames 1) represents amessenger-call box, I) a telephone-tramsmitter, and b atelephonereceiver, and in the central office 0 represents a spring-jack;c, a plug for insertion into said spring-jack; 0 a transmitter, and c areceiver. All of these parts are of the usual and well-knownconstruction.

According to my present invention, and referring to the several partsforming the'same according to the manner in which they are used when theservice is being operated by a subscriber, CZ represents a springpush-button, which is located in a wire 1 2 in such manner that bypressing said button, which is done by the operator when desiring tocall the central office, the wire 2 is grounded through wire 1 at f, andthe circuit is completed through said wire 2, binding-post 3, wire 4,battery 6, wire 5, spring 0 contact-piece 0 wire 6, drop g, and officeground-wire 7, which latter is grounded at f. lVhen the circuit is thuscompleted through the battery, drop, and ground wires by depressing thesaid pushbutton d, the drop is caused to fall in the usual manner and sonotify the central office. After being so notified the central operatorinserts the plug 0 into the spring-jack 0, thus cutting out the drop gand office-ground by the raising of the spring (2 from the contactpiece0 and closing the circuit metallically through the central-ofiicetelephone in a manner that will be readily understood. After the circuithas thus been closed metallically the circuit, commencing at the battery6, normally passes through the wire 4, binding-post 3, and wire 2 as faras a contact-piece h, through which it passes to a metallic springkey h,which latter is normally held in movable engagement with saidcontact-piece h. From said key the circuit passes through wire 8,call-box Z), which latter is always in circuit, and from thence throughwire 9, binding-post 10, and wire 11 to the next succeeding subscribersand through the correspondingly-designated parts there to thereturn-wire 12, through which the circuit is completed.

It will of course be understood that the number of subscribers is notlimited and the circuit passes through the succeeding instruments in themanner as described until it reaches the return-wire.

After, a subscriber has called the central office and the circuit beenclosed metallically, as described, the subscribers telephone instrumentis still out of circuit by reason of its being short-circuited throughthe contactkey h and wire 8, and in order to bring his instrument incircuit he depresses the key h from contact with the piece h, thuscutting off the circuit through the latter and bringing his instrumentinto circuit through the Wire 13. The key h is thus kept depressed fromcontact with the piece h While the telephone is being used, after whichpressure upon said keyis removed and the same springs into contactposition, thus cutting out the instrument by short-circuiting the same,as will be understood. My improved service, as described, is nowparticularly adapted for use, whereby the operator or subscriber maytransmit to the central messenger-oflice the message to be deliveredWithout Waiting for a messenger to come from the central oflice to hishome, and thus save such unnecessary time.

In combination with my invention, as de scribed, I have arranged andillustrated the ordinary messenger-call box Z7 With the usual station orcentral office appliances, consisting of the bell i, register 1', relay7?, and battery 71 all of which are of the usual construction andoperation, and will therefore not require a further detailed descriptionherein.

When the central operator inserts the plug 0 into the spring-jack c tocut out the drop 9 and office-ground and complete the circuitmetallically, as hereinbefore described, such operation also shuts themain circuit of the relay and opens the local circuit of the same, andthereby cuts the central messenger-box appliances out of service Whilethe telephone is being used. This messenger-call box system, if desired,may be employed for burglaralarm or other similar purposes.

Having thus set forth my invention, What I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is-

In a telephonic messenger service, the combination of a circuit havingtwo or more ground-Wires, a battery, a drop or other indicator, and adevice, as cl, for adding or cuttin g out one ofsaid ground-Wires,located in said circuit between the latter, the said de vice normallycutting out said Wire, a telephone-receiver and a transmitter placed insaid circuit and normally cut out of the same by a short circuit, acontact-piece and key placed in said circuit in a position, whereby,upon depressing or moving said key from the contact piece the telephonereceiver and transmitter Will be brought into said circuit, a secondtelephone receiver and transmitter, and means for placing the latter insaid circuit to close the same metallically and cut out the said dropand second ground-Wire, the said one battery being placed in saidcircuit for supplying the several parts of the system, substantially asdescribed and for the purpose set forth.

I JEFFERSON D. HOBBS. lVitnesses:

CHAs. F. DANE, A. L. HAYES.

